Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1887-11-16
EDIsON'S PHON OGRAPH.
The Wonderful Things He Claims
the Machine Will Do.
An Invention Which, IF Found Practical.
I VIII Do Away with stenography
and observation-disclosures Trans
lnitted by Mail. q

ss5 VIII q do away with StenOgraply Z:
and Typewritine-Lang Trans Is
mitted by Mail.
When found by a New York Post reporter
in the laboratory Of his lamp factory in
Newark, from which four thousand lamps a
day are now sent out, Edison said that the
commercial monograph is now the most in.
teresting thing III the world to him, al
though it is perfectly finished, and tools are
being made for its manufacture upon
large scale. The stories which Edison tells
OF what his perfected monograph will do
are 30 extraordinary that he scarcely ex-
poets people to believe him, and yet he says
that the apparatus is SO simple, 50 effective
and SO Immediately useful that he is GER
tain Of its rapid introduction into business
far more certain than he was of the uni
versal adoption Of the telephone as busi-
ness instrument. Edison said of bis newly
finished monograph: "You know that I
finished the first.phonograph more than ten
years ago. It remained more or less toy
The germ of something wonderful
was perfectly distinct, but I tried
the impossible with it, and when
the electric-light business assumed COM
mercial Importance I threw every thing
overheard for that. Nevertheless, the
monograph has been more or less con-
stantly in my mind ever since. When.rest-
ing from prolonged work upon the light
my brain would revert almost automatical-
~ to the old idea. Since the light has been
finished have taken up the monograph,
and after eight months of steady work have.
made it a commercial invention. My pho
nograph expect to see in every business
Office. The first five hundred will, hope,
1,N IT, s,k-.
January. Their operation is simplicity it.
self and can not fail. The merchant or
clerk who wishes to send letter has only
to set the machine in motion and to talk in
his natural voice and at the usual rate Of
speed into the receiver. When he has fin
ished, the sheet, or 'phonogram,' as call
it, is ready for putting into a little box made
on purpose for the mails. We are making
the sheets in three sizes-one for letters Of
from 500 to 1000 words, another size for
1900 words, another size for 1900 words. l
expect that arrangements may be made
with the post-of1ce authorities enabling the
phonogram boxes to be sent at the same
rate as letter. ....j.-i
1.-THE receiver of phonogram will put it
into his apparatus and the message will be
given out more clearly, more distinctly
than the best telephone message ever sent.
The tones of the voice in the two phono-
graphs which have finished are so perfect
ly rendered that one can distinguish be-
tween twenty different persons, each one
of whom has said few words. One ire
mendous advantage is that the letter may
be repeated a thousand times if necessary.
The phonogram does not wear out by use:
moreover it may be filed away for hundred
years and be ready the instant it is needed.
If a man dictates his will to the monograph,
there will be no disputing the authenticity
of the document with those who knew the
tones of his voice in life. The cost of max
ing the phonogram will be scarcely more
than the cost of ordinary letter paper. The
machine win read out the letter or message
at the same speed with which it was die
tated.
"Ihave experimental with device for
enabling printers to set type directly from
the dictation of the phonograph, and think
that it will work to charm. It is so ar
ranged that the printer, by touching lever
with his foot allows five or ten words of the
phonogram to be sounded; if he is not sat
isfied with the first hearing he can make
it repeat the same words over and over
again until he has them in type. For busy
men who dictate great deal for the press
I am sure the monograph will he neces-
sity after very little experience
"For musicians the monograph is going
to do wonders, owing to the extreme cheap
ness with which 1 can duplicate phono-
grams and the delicacy with which the ap-
paratus gives out all musical sounds. In
the early photograph of ten years ago,
which was very imperfect and crude af-
fair compared to that of to-day, it was al.
ways noticed that musical sounds came out
particularly we'll; the machine would
whistle or sing far better than it would
talk. This popularity of the monograph
remains. have taken down the music of
an orchestra, and the result is marvellous;
each instrument can be perfectly dis
tinguished, the strings are perfectly dis
tinct, the violins from the cellos, the wind
instruments and the wood are perfectly
heard, and even in the notes of violin the
over-tones are distinct to delicate ear. 1t
is going to work wonders for the benefit OF
music-lovers. A piece for any instrument,
for the piano, or for an orchestra, OR an
act, or the whole of an opera, musical in
struments and voices, can be given out by
the monograph with beauty Of tone and
distinctness past belief, and the duplcat-
ing apparatus for phonograms is so cheap
an affair that the price of music for the
monograph will be scarcely worth oonsid-
ering. AS the phonogram will be practical
~ indestructible by ordinary use, such nu-
sic can be played over and over again.
tsMy first photograph, as you remember,
consisted simply of roller carrying the
foil: and provided with q. diaphragm-poin
properly arranged to serape or indent the
foil. The roller was turned by hand. In
the new instrument there is far more COM
plication, but altogether different results.
My propelling machinery consists of small
electric motor, run by very few cells.
Strange to say, have found more difficulty
in getting motor to suit me than any other
part of the apparatus. Itried various kinds
Of clockwork and spring motors, but found
them Enthusiastically and noisy. The motors
I am now making are absolutely steady and
noiseless. There is no part of the apparatus,
the tools for which am now making on a
large scale here, which is likely to get out
Of order or to work in an uncertain manner.
The two finished monographs are practi-
cally exactly what I intend to offer for sale
within few months"
An Editors Peril.
On Thursday night, while we were writ
ing an editorial on the financial condition
of the country, some tiend in human shape